To The Future
by VampsOnCrack
Summary: Atlantis's flagship team, accompanied by Dr Keller, find themselves transported to the future because of a gate malfunction. What will they discover about themselves and the events that will shape their futures? Will be multichaptered.
1. Chapter 1

It was a routine mission to M2X-352. Sheppard and his team had been sent to the planet, along with Dr. Keller, to provide help to a small village they'd allied themselves with during their last visit, who'd succumbed to a flu-like illness which had already claimed the lives of multiple children and elders. They'd been there for the past week and a half while Keller worked nearly non-stop trying to treat the sick. She'd stopped only to sleep and eat when one of the team dragged her out of her makeshift clinic. Figuratively, of course.

John and Rodney were sitting on the ground at their campsite, tossing a tennis ball that John had snuck into his pocket between them. Ronan walked around the perimeter of the site, refusing to let his guard down even on a practically deserted planet such as this. Teyla was down in the village, helping the doctor with her patients. The man had offered, but according to Jennifer Teyla just had a natural knack for dealing with people. Something about having patience.

"How much longer are we going to be here? Sleeping on the hard ground is not doing my back any favors." Rodney complained as he tossed the ball back to John. "Soon I'll be conducting major breakthroughs in science remotely from my bed because I can't stand up anymore."

"Stop complaining McKay. The doc said that she thought the antibiotics were working, so give it a few more days and we'll be home before you know it" Sheppard rebutted.

"Would you rather a whole village die of something you can cure?" Ronan snipped as he walked past the pair.

"Yeah well if my back gives out before then I'll be claiming compensa-" Rodney was cut off before he could finish by their radios crackling to life.

"Colonel Sheppard, please come in". It was Teyla.

"Go on Teyla, what ya got?" Sheppard answered.

"It would seem that our work here is done. Doctor Keller seems confident that the treatment is working well for the villagers and that there is nothing more we can do but wait." Teyla's voice explained.

"I do want to come back within a week to check on their progress, but we've instructed the healers here on how to deliver the antibiotics so there shouldn't be any problems" Jennifer interjected.

"So we can go home?" Rodney asked hopefully.

"Yes Rodney" said John, rolling his eyes. "It means we can go home." Turning his attention back to his radio, he told Teyla and the doctor to grab their stuff and head back to camp, while the boys would focus on packing up the camp.

Half an hour later, the group was heading back towards the Gate, talking jovially about food, beds, and hot showers. John noticed that Jennifer had kept rather quiet since departing, so he told Ronan to take up his position at the front of the pack, while he dropped back and fell into step with the doctor.

"What's wrong, doc? Not happy to be headed home?" He asked, voice low enough that she was the only one that heard him. The others were too busy discussing the variety of desserts waiting for them back on Atlantis anyway.

"It's not that" She answered. "I just hate leaving patients before they're a hundred percent healthy. It makes me nervous".

"Don't worry, we'll be back inside of a week, and I guarantee that they'll all be on their feet, and ready to kneel down and kiss yours." He looked at her, smiling reassuringly. She couldn't help but smile back, and bump her shoulder against his.

They arrived at the Gate a few minutes later. Rodney dialed Atlantis' coordinates, and the Gate whooshed to life. Sheppard sent through his IDC and they walked up to the event horizon when a sudden movement made Sheppard call them to a halt. The event horizon seemed to flicker, before disappearing entirely. Sheppard turned to Rodney and asked: "What just happened?"

"I don't know, the Gate doesn't usually just cut out. It's not like it's a microwave and the cable just got pulled!" He exclaimed. He returned back to the DHD and redialed, as the rest of them moved safely out of the way. As before, the wormhole opened, flickered, and disappeared.

"McKay, what the hell is happening?" John demanded.

"I don't know! Look, we'll try it once more and if that doesn't work we'll have to wait for Atlantis to realize we're late with our check-in and come get us." He attempted once again, at which time the wormhole flickered, but seemed to stabilize.

"See, no problem. It's probably an issue with the planet's DHD." McKay assured, as he walked around the DHD towards the Gate.

"I'm not so sure…" John hesitated, but followed Rodney anyway.

The group walked out on the other side of the wormhole to an Atlantis that they immediately didn't recognize. It looked awfully similar to their gate room, but there were little details that changed, such as the primary color scheme on the walls was not blue and green, but a dreary beige, and there was no one around save for a young woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties wearing tight black trousers, a white button up shirt with a little identity badge on it sporting the SGA logo, and black military style boots. She had long jet-black hair that was messily tied up into a ponytail, and had in her hand a tablet that she was working on. She did not react upon the team's arrival, head firmly pointed down, eyes fixed on her work.

"SGA-1, you're right on time." The woman said, still not looking up from her tablet. A few seconds of stunned silence took over them.

"Umm look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who the hell are you, and what the hell is going on here?!" John demanded, as his voice rose. The woman didn't react to his tone of voice, just lifted her head and beamed at them, showing them her face for the first time. She had a very straight nose, and amber eyes.

"Sorry, this must be a shock for you. Let me introduce myself. My name's Liz Sheppard and I am mayor of Atlantis."


	2. Chapter 2

CH2

The five travelers stood there, unmoving in shock. Teyla was the first to be knocked out of her stupor.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid we don't quite understand. This is obviously not the Atlantis we know."

"I am aware of that, as we have been expecting you for quite some time. I'll go into details later on, but for now just know this: you have all traveled in time. It is currently ..." she tapped a few times on her tablet, "26 years, 5 months and 6 days since you left M2X-532. Don't worry though, we'll get you back to where you come from with no problems, it just means that you'll have to stay in this time zone for a few days. If you'd like to follow me please." She turned on her heel and walked off in the direction of the mess hall. Teyla turned back to find Ronan and Jennifer coming back to reality and making their way to follow the woman, while John and Rodney were still locked in a trance. It took Teyla's gentle touch to rouse them.

"Come. If we wish to find out happened, or if we wish to return home, we had better follow her." She grabbed both men by the arm and encouraged them to walk.

They caught up as the woman guided them past the mess hall and into what they knew as Woolsey's quarters. The differences were striking however, as they noticed as they entered. It was bare, minimal, and more like a cheap motel room than quarters for the leader of the Atlantis expedition.

"Please sit." Said the woman, gesturing to seats assembled around a small round table. The group sat, still unsure of what was actually happening. The woman stayed standing, although she put the tablet down on another table off to the side.

"I know it may be hard to wrap your heads around, so I'll explain as best as I can." She started.

"When you came back from M2X-532, the Stargate was affected by undetected tropospheric conditions, causing the wormhole to malfunction and instead of just displacing you in space it also took you through time."

"Wait a minute, this happened to me before!" Sheppard exclaimed. "A solar flare made the wormhole jump and sent me ten thousand years into the future!"

"Yes, we have the records of that incident." She answered. "In this case the solar flare wasn't as intense as that one was, so you were only sent this far. The next solar flare to take you back to you time will be in 3 days. It may be a day or two off but it will take you more or less back to where you were in your timelines. Until then, we will gladly let you stay here." She smiled at them with dazzling white teeth.

The group looked at each other, absorbing the new information. After a full minute of silence, it was Jennifer who broke it.

"Wait, didn't you say your name was Liz Sheppard?" She asked, looking at John who snapped his head around to her, his face going slightly pale.

"Yes, I did. And yes John, I am your daughter. My full name is Elizabeth, named after Elizabeth Weir, head of the expedition when you first left Earth."

"And you're _mayor_ of Atlantis?" Teyla inquired.

"Only as a stand-in. The real mayor, along with a few others, has gone to Athos for the next two weeks for diplomatic issues and so I'm in charge until they get back. Atlantis is not as you used to know it. It is now a proper city, with well over 12 000 inhabitants."

"So what happened to all of us?" Ronan grunted his first interjection in the conversation.

"I'm not permitted to say. Knowing too much about your own future is dangerous." Liz said somewhat sadly. It was as if she wanted to say more, but couldn't.

"Well that's rubbish!" Rodney ejaculated. "Just you telling us who you are is enough to causes all sorts of paradoxes and-"

"I know full well how dangerous a space-time paradox can be, Uncle Rodney, but the council decided it was a necessary risk in order to get you back safely." Liz argued back. The team stared at her for her slip-up.

"Uncle Rodney?" McKay had to ask.

"Sorry, it slipped out" She flushed, clearly embarrassed. She shuffled from foot to foot, uncomfortable.

"You are free to wander around the control tower, but I would appreciate it if you contained yourselves to not go around the city. Try not to talk to too many people unless if necessary. Everyone knows you're here. Well, everyone who needs to know. We don't want to risk you finding out anything too important now, do we?" She announced, trying to act normal even though the slip of the tongue obviously put her off.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very boring meeting to attend that starts…" She checked the tablet "five minutes ago, crap!" She grabbed her device and high-tailed it out of the room, shouting behind her as she went "I'll come back later this evening to check you're all settling in!"

The five remaining people in the room just sat there in silence for a few moments, taking everything in. They were actually in the future, in an Atlantis that was a normal city, with thousands and thousands of people in it, with 9 to 5 jobs, not saving the galaxy.

"Well she's definitely your daughter Sheppard, always late for meetings!" Rodney joked, breaking the silence that had overcome them. No one laughed, and when he looked over at Sheppard he noticed that the colonel was a particular shade of light green. He also remarked that he hadn't said a word since Liz told them where they were.

"John?" he called over, calling attention of Sheppard's condition to the others, who all grew worried when Sheppard didn't seem to hear them. Ronan waved his hand in front of Sheppard's glazed over eyes, and Jennifer put her hand on his shoulder, and he blinked before finally opening his mouth.

"I have a daughter." was all he said.

"Yeah, in twenty six years' time!" Rodney commented, not seeming to grasp the implications.

"Except Liz is at least twenty, no one would leave an entire city in the control of a teenager. She looks like she could be about twenty three." Jennifer explained.

"Oh yeah" Rodney pondered, the realization dawning on him.

"So if she's my daughter" John choked out "she'll be born in a few years from now. Well, from when we left. How is that even possible? Who the hell is her mother? Contrary to what you think McKay I don't just go around sleeping with 'hot ascended women'!" He was starting to ramble, pacing around the room. Jennifer could spot the start of a panic attack coming on, and tried to head it off before it became worse.

"Look" she started, also getting up from her seat to rest her hands on Sheppard's shoulders "It's been a long day for all of us, judging by the suns outside it's about midday so let's all get some lunch and we'll figure thing out later"

The colonel stared at her for a few seconds before minutely nodding his head. The rest of the group stood up from where they'd been sat and the five of them headed out silently to the mess hall.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N: I don't know if I'm happy with this chapter, it started off well in my head, but I don't know how well it's actually turned out. Meh. Enjoy anyway !

The group ate in silence, trying not to look around too much for fear of seeing something that didn't belong in their knowledge of Atlantis, and risk feeling the pang of homesickness in their guts. Each member was in their own world. The most that was said between any of them was a request from Rodney to pass the salt. No one moved, but continued to eat as if they hadn't heard him.

They finished their meals as if alone and one by one left to go back to the room they were deposited in earlier.

Sheppard couldn't stay still, pacing around the room staring at the door, willing for Liz to come back so that he could just look at her again. He was still getting it through his head that she was actually his daughter. His child, a real human being that he made and looked after for all her life. He'd always wanted kids, he even came close with his ex-wife, but it just never happened.

Ronan wasn't much better, also pacing but he was more interested in discovering everything the room contained, looking through all the drawers and cupboards. Meanwhile Teyla, Rodney and Jennifer were all sitting back in the same chairs as before, quietly chatting about random thoughts that came to their heads, deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room.

Breaking the quietness of the room, the door slid open and John turned to see who was entering the room. He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw who it was.

"Todd?!" He sputtered incredulously, causing everyone to whip their heads around in surprise.

"Good evening, John Sheppard" Todd answered calmly. John shot forward, grabbing his sidearm from its holster on his hip, pointing it at Todd's face. Ronan quickly joined John as he raised is gun at Todd as well.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Sheppard exclaimed.

"I merely came to see if what I was told was true. I knew such a phenomenon was possible with the Gate, but I had yet to witness it myself. When I was informed you had arrived, I knew I had to come and confirm for myself." Todd explained, completely unfazed by John's reaction.

"I meant, what the hell are you doing here on Atlantis? I doubt that even twenty-six years in the future we'd ever trust you." John rebutted.

"Believe it or not, John Sheppard, things do change. You'll discover that, in time." Todd said cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Just then, the door opened again and Liz entered.

"Todd! I told you not to come and see them!" She complained, sounding more annoyed than enraged.

"I told you I wanted to experience it myself Elizabeth" Todd said, not looking away from John "It's been years since I've seen John like this. It is… different."

"Yeah well, did you have to? I knew they wouldn't take it well." She almost whined.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Elizabeth" Todd said, sounding surprisingly sincere. It took John aback, and he almost dropped his gun in shock. Instead, he tightened his grip.

"I would however" Todd went on "appreciate it if John Sheppard and Ronan Dex would lower their weapons"

Liz looked and the pair. "Please, you two?" She begged.

John pulled his gaze away from Todd to look at his _daughter_. He looked into her eyes, and couldn't help but give in. He lowered his arm and loosened his grip on the gun. Ronan however did not budge.

"Unc- Ronan, please?" Liz tried again, catching herself before she slipped up again.

"Ronan" Sheppard barked, and Ronan hesitated a second longer before also lowering his gun.

"Thank you" Todd acknowledged.

"Oh, I didn't do it for you" Sheppard sassed.

"Of that I am sure" Todd agreed "I shall leave you in peace". He turned sharply, his coat tail billowing.

"Elizabeth" He nodded as he passed.

"Todd" She answered belatedly. As the door slid shut behind the Wraith, Rodney exploded before Sheppard could, making everyone in the room jump.

"Why are there WRAITH in the city? Do you honestly think you can trust them?" He shouted, waving his arms about wildly. "They are evil! They only think of themselves and one day they will turn on you and leave you in the dust of the destruction they create!"

Elizabeth stood strong against McKay, refusing to back down, unlike Teyla who had shrunk back in recoil.

"Well they've been here for about ten years, so I'd reckon they're trustworthy alright!" She shouted angrily back at him. McKay had not expected such a reaction, and the answer she gave shut him up.

"I knew this would happen" she went on, much more calmly this time "that's why I told him to stay away. It's why I told all of them to stay away."

"All of them? How many are there?" Teyla interjected. She was interrupted by Ronan's question: "Who allowed them to live here?"

"You did. You all did, actually." She blurted out, which left them all at a loss for words.

"I shouldn't even be talking about this, I was instructed not to." Liz supplied, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"But-" McKay stared, but Sheppard cut him off.

"It's okay Liz, we understand. No telling the future and all" he nodded at her. She bent her head in gratitude. "I just came to tell you that we have rooms made up for you here in the building" She explained. "You'll have to share though as we only have 2 rooms. I figured women in one, men in another, is that okay with you?" She asked, and they all nodded, confused that she'd even remotely expect any other answer. They followed her out and she led them down the corridors to rooms that used to be the quarters for the expedition's personnel. She stopped outside a random door and gestured to Teyla and Jennifer.

"This is your room ladies. And you gentlemen" she stepped aside to show the door next to it "will be right next to them. As I said, you're welcome to walk around, but it's quite late and so there won't be much to see at the moment. So I suggest you get a good night's sleep, and we'll talk more tomorrow. Agreed?" She said it as more of an order than a request, so the group just nodded and made their way into their new accommodations. John however, hung back and signaled to Liz to step away so that he could talk to her. They waited for everyone to disappear before John started.

"So you're really …" he let the sentence hang, not knowing if he should actually finish it.

"Yes, I am" she giggled

"Well who's your mom? Because let me tell you, back in 2009 I'm kind of a loner" He admitted.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't say anything." Her gaze softened, and he couldn't help but smile at her.

"Ah come on, not anything? I'm going crazy racking my brain on who it could be" He pleaded.

"You know I can't tell you anything, but…" She flung her arms around him, having to lift herself onto her tiptoes. John stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before returning the hug.

"Dad said you'd need this." She finished. John tightened his arms around her, and couldn't help the bizarre familiarity of the action. It just felt so right, he couldn't explain it. It immediately calmed him, and he felt at home.

"Your dad's right" He chuckled, still a little unbelieving of the whole situation. They pulled away slowly and she kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." She reassured. "I know you're worried about well everything, but before you know it you'll all be back where you belong" She patted his shoulder. "Good night John."

He watched her walk down the corridor until she disappeared behind a corner. The way she walked definitely reminded him of someone, but he couldn't figure out whom. It felt like it was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't reach it. He opened the door to his room, and entered to try and get some sleep. He could tell he was going to need it with the next few days.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N: I listened to Golden Days by Panic! At The Disco whilst writing the control room passage. It was strangely inspiring. Enjoy!

The next morning, John woke up early. It was still dark outside, and Ronan and Rodney were still fast asleep. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, letting his feet dangle in mid-air as he stretched his arms and back. He'd entered the room last night to find that the other men had claimed the bottom bunks of the two bunk beds occupying most of the space in the room, so he'd had to settle for a top bunk above Ronan. There was no way he was sleeping over Rodney, the man moved too much in his sleep.

He jumped down silently onto the floor and put his clothes on as quietly as possibly, trying to grant his team as much sleep as they could get. They'd had an eventful day and needed rest. He left the tiny room and walked around the building alone. Without taking into account where he was actually going, he somehow found himself in the control room. Except it was no longer a control room. It was an empty shell of what it used to be. The gate dialing controls were still there, but there were no other tables or controls around. Just unlabeled boxes stacked to various heights. The room was completely void of any of its former glory. He walked over to the steps leading down to the Gate and sat at the bottom, staring at the ring that was so important to him. By the looks of the room the Gate was hardly even used anymore, if at all. So that must mean that unless they had another way to contact Earth, they were completely cut off from his home planet.

Did they mind? Did the humans of Future Atlantis even come from Earth, or were they all, with the exceptions of himself and the members of the expedition that he knew considered Atlantis like home and would never leave, from Pegasus? He wondered idly what Earth was like in this future. Were they even aware of the Stargate, or had the Air Force kept it a secret for so long? Did they know that as a society they had reached as far as other galaxies, and had interacted with the most terrifying, intelligent, and wonderful creatures that they could possibly think of? Looking around again, he felt his chest feel heavy with sadness. The Atlantis as he knew it was gone and he would live through it, seeing it happen little by little. He felt like a father watching their child grow up too quickly. The thought made him almost homesick, but he knew that for the future him, this _was_ home.

He shuddered, and carried on his walk. He ambled around, checking out various rooms that he visited often back in his time such as Woolsey's office, his office, Rodney's lab, and the sparring room before winding up back where he started outside his bedroom. It was starting to get lighter outside, so he decided it was time for breakfast and made his way down to the cafeteria.

He walked into the mess hall to a strange sight: Jennifer sharing a cup of coffee and laughing with Elizabeth. He thought about how Jennifer had kept calm throughout the whole ordeal, and seemed more than at home at that moment, sipping of her drink and chatting nonchalantly with a woman who wasn't even alive in their time.

He was about to walk over to join them, but something made him stop in his tracks. Both women were both facing profile to him, and he noticed the similarities in their faces, the angle of their noses and their chins. Even the way they held their cups of coffee was identical. He felt as if he'd just been punched in the stomach, and his head started reeling.

He stumbled back towards the door. He couldn't let them know he'd seen them. He needed some time to gather his thoughts, and to do that he needed to be alone. He hesitated on where to go before going to the room that they'd been put into when they'd initially arrived: Woolsey's quarters. He ran away from the mess hall down the corridor and didn't stop until he reached his destination. He hurriedly opened the door, shutting it directly behind him, and slumping down to the floor with his head in his hands.

He'd always had some kind of feelings for the blonde doctor; he'd self-diagnosed it as a crush that would pass in a while. He'd blamed it on the closeness that had happened between them recently as she'd come on more missions with him and she'd spent more of her time with him and his team, as well as the lack of good looking, eligible women on Atlantis, although he knew that wasn't exactly true. There were plenty of those; he was just a bit too much of a loner to notice them. In his own defense, he had always been a bit too busy focusing on the fate of several galaxies to worry on finding a woman who actually liked spending time with him, which is what made what he'd just seen even harder to comprehend. But still, there was no way he could be wrong about this. There was no denying it, when the evidence was right in front of his eyes. The two women were too similar to be anything other than blood.

From his position, he noticed a piece of paper underneath the drawers on the far side of the room. Happy to find something to take his mind off what he'd just discovered, he stood up and walked over to the chest of drawers. He kneeled on the floor and stuck his hand underneath the furniture, feeling around for the paper. As he put his hand on the item, he grunted in victory. He pulled back, sitting on the floor with his legs out in front of him. Upon looking at the folded piece of paper, his eyes widened as he read what was written on the outside: _To John._ It was recognizably his writing. He hesitantly opened it, revealing a letter:

 _Dear past John,_

 _As you probably guessed, this from Future John. I've written this about a week before you get here, so it'll be fairly relevant. Liz has kicked the whole gang out of Atlantis for the week; she's worried we'll go looking for you. Although it would be cool seeing me looking as young and good looking as you were back then, I'm happy enough now that I don't want to revisit the past. I thought I'd write you this letter however, to help you out a little bit. Liz told me not to because she think's it'll change the past, but she doesn't know that I already found the letter, so not writing it is what would change the past (if you get what I mean)._

 _First of all is Lizzie. She's the best thing that will ever happen to you. Never forget that. They'll be times when you'll want to pull your hair out because of her, but you'll never stop loving her with all your heart. She's beautiful, smart, kind, and everything else one could hope for in a daughter. I wish I could take all the credit for that, but she's just like her mother_

 _I know you're probably wondering about who it is, which is my second point. All I'll say is this: don't be afraid to let people in. believe me, I know how hard it is more than anyone. But it's worth it, it really is. And you know that woman you've been pining over for months without letting yourself get too close? Talk to her about it. Tell her how you feel. Who knows what'll happen. Maybe she'll be the one. I'm not saying she IS, but I'm not saying she ISN'T. You'll just have to find out for yourself. (But hell, I know you already know, but I'm still not writing it down)_

 _Thirdly is Atlantis. Take a chance on Todd. He can be more annoying than McKay, and he talks even less than Ronan, but trust me when I say he's the best ally Atlantis has, even if he's not the most reliable at times. It seems an unlikely alliance, and it'll be rough, but stick with it. He'll come through for you._

 _I know it may not seem like it to you, but Atlantis is better now than it was. Let the change happen._

 _Keep safe, and thank you for listening._

 _From Future John._

Sheppard leant back against the chest of drawers. His head hurt from the sheer amount of new information that had entered it in the previous ten minutes. He needed a few minutes to process it. Unfortunately, that was not really an option for him, as the door to the room opened and the certain blonde haired doctor he was thinking about walked through the door.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N: Let's all welcome a new character in this chapter. I have no idea in which direction this fic is going, I'm making it up chapter by chapter; there is no real endgame (apart from the obvious romantic angle). Enjoy!

"Hey Sheppard" Jennifer called into the room. John looked up from the letter in his hands the stare at her. He quickly folded the paper back on itself and slid it up his sleeve. He didn't want her to see it, or anyone else in fact. It was his own little secret, his tiny piece of the future to hold on to.

"We've been looking for you" She carried on "Ronan and Rodney turned up for breakfast and said you were already gone. I've been walking round the building trying to find you"

"Sorry, just wanted a bit of alone time" John answered, grunting as he lifted himself off the floor. Jennifer smiled at him understandingly.

"I get it. It's sort of a lot to take in, isn't it? Just thinking that this is what our lives are like in a few years" She said.

"Well you seem to be taking it better than the rest of us; you were looking pretty chummy with Liz earlier" He answered as they walked out through the door and down the corridor.

"Saw that, did you? You should've come over instead of hiding away. We were talking about _you_ " She smirked at him.

"Oh yeah?" he queried, gently elbowing her side "What did she have to say?"

"Oh you know; just little things. Nothing important. Just dad things." She elbowed him back and winked at him. John could feel his cheeks redden in response and looked away from the doctor, opting to star down the corridor at the approaching troupe of people: his team.

"You found him!" Rodney exclaimed as they neared the pair.

"He was hiding away in a corner looking very pensive. It was a first for him" Jennifer joked and smiled at John. Her smile was infectious to him and he couldn't help but smile a genuine smile back at her. The others caught the look that passed between the two, and shared knowing looks of their own, but didn't comment on it.

"So shall we go back to the cafeteria?" Teyla inquired "Elizabeth is waiting for us to give us a tour of the -"

She stopped short when she felt a weight hit the back of her leg. She looked down to find the strangest thing: a toddler, a little girl who looked to be about two years old, clinging to her calf. The rest of the group also noticed the child and stared at her.

"Kaa'ta!" The girl squealed, hugging Teyla's leg.

"Hello little one" Teyla crooned at the child, picking her up immediately and resting her on her hip. The rest of the group stayed with their eyes fixed on the pair, slightly agape.

"What did she say?" Rodney asked.

"Kaa'ta" Teyla repeated "It means grandmother in the language of my people" She bounced the toddler on her hip. No one moved, the shock rooting them in place.

"Alyna!" A voice shouted from across the room. They all jumped and turned to see a man running across the hallway. He skidded up to them and reaches out for the girl without really looking at who he had approached.

"I'm so sorry" he started "I turned my back for a second and she disappe-" He looked up and noticed who he was talking to, and his eyes bulged in recognition.

"Mother?" He choked.

"Torren" She acknowledged, taking it all in her stride, and not showing any shock on her face. She handed over the child to him.

"I take it that she is yours?"

"Yes, this is Alyna, who knows very well not to walk away from me when I am not watching her" He scolded the toddler, who's smile disappeared and she hid her head in the crook of his neck in shame. He hiked up his daughter, who was slipping down a little with every second, so that she didn't fall.

"I was told of your arrival, but I did not think I was going to see you." He carried on "It is very bizarre to see you all looking so young"

"Don't worry; we could say the same sort of thing about you. It's freaky seeing you this old. Last time we saw you, you were younger than your daughter is, puking up your dinner on me." Rodney interjected. Everyone turned to look at Rodney, as was usual whenever he blurted out whatever was on his mind without a brain-to-mouth filter. John rolled his eyes and turned back to the man and his daughter.

"It's good to see you, Torren"

"Mother's the only one who calls me Torren nowadays, John. Everyone calls me TJ"

"TJ? Really?" Teyla repeated "I don't like it" She chided.

"Yes, you still don't" Torren chortled.

"I like it" John weighed in, flashing a smile "There's more of me in there" Jennifer giggled at him, and they all unanimously started moving down the corridor in the direction of the mess hall, chatting to Torren as they went.

"So Torren" Teyla started, refusing to call him by the nickname he'd adopted "Who is the mother of my adorable little grandchild?"

"I am not allowed to say anything, as I am sure you know already. I can assure you though, she is a brilliant woman" He reassured.

At that precise moment, as if on cue, Liz stepped out of a door to their left.

"Hi TJ" She greeted, before turning her attention to the child in his arms. "And what are you doing here, little one?" She took the girl's hands in her own, waving them about playfully and smiling at her. For a moment, John thought he saw something pass between Elizabeth and TJ, a private look that could mean so much. Plus the way she interacted with the baby was so natural, almost too natural. He held his breath, hoping his hunch was wrong.

"Her mother has fallen ill, and does not wish to infect Alyna, so I brought her with me to work" TJ explained. Sheppard let out his breath as inconspicuously as possible; he didn't know how he would've reacted if he'd found out that not only did his daughter and Teyla's son end up together, but that he was now a grandfather. It was disturbing enough to know that Teyla was a grandmother herself. As much as he considered Teyla as close as family, to actually be related would be another step up.

"Well drop her off on the seventh floor with Jenny before you start work, you know babies make him uncomfortable" Liz advised. TJ nodded in agreement before turning back to the group.

"I must leave now, it was an honor to meet all of you" He announced. He bowed before his mother, and touched his forehead with hers, before scooting off towards a transporter.

"Who's the guy he works with that doesn't like babies?" Ronan asked out of curiosity.

"Fred. He's the Wraith ambassador. He and TJ are heads of Human-Wraith Resources here at City Hall." Liz explained. Upon seeing the group's discomfort, she rolled her eyes.

"I told you, we live in harmony, relatively speaking, with the Wraith on Atlantis. It's a fact you'll all have to get used to. And trust me, you will" She smirked knowingly at them, making them shuffle on their feet. John was the first to relax and to pipe up.

"So… Fred?" He inquired, desperate to know where the name came from. Liz chuckled in response.

"Every Wraith was allowed to choose their own human names to facilitate their integration to Atlantis. Quite a few of them came to you for advice"

"So I'm Chief Name Chooser for the Wraith? Nice!" He exclaimed, fist pumping the air. Rodney groaned.

"So how many Jeff's are there?" He moaned, knowing Sheppard's tendency to name things weirdly.

"Only three, surprisingly" Liz joked back. They followed Elizabeth to her office, where she sat down and turned back to them.

"You can all go do whatever you want to do, as long as you're all careful. I've got piles of paperwork to sludge through, so unfortunately I can't stay with you. Have fun! "

The group nodded in acknowledgement and left the room, discussing what to do with the rest of the day.


	6. Chapter 6

A.N: Prepare for some John/Jen quality time! Enjoy!

The rest of the day went by quickly, and night fell sooner than they expected. The group all went to bed at around half eleven, every one of them complaining about how tired they were. However, two hours later found John lying in bed with his eyes wide open, unable to rest peacefully. He had tried his best to get to sleep but his day had been very eventful, and the thoughts swimming around his mind kept his brain far too active to even consider resting. He grunted in frustration before sitting up and quietly getting off the bed and leaving the room, much in the same way as he had that very morning. He walked around until he found an abandoned room with comfortable looking armchairs, and flopped down into the nearest one to him, sighing. He delved into his pocket and pulled out the note he'd found that morning, from his future self. He read and reread it, poring over every word and trying to find hidden meanings behind each sentence, as he knew future him may have secrets to tell him that he daren't even write in case the letter fell into the wrong hands. After the twelfth reading, he admitted defeat. There were no code words, no double meanings. He really was happy with his life in the future. He sighed, staring at the paper. He once again found himself wishing for more information on his life, his family and friends, and Atlantis. He knew he couldn't risk knowing anything for fear of changing future events, but that didn't make it any easier.

He was so involved in his thoughts, he didn't hear her approach. He jumped out of his skin as her dulcet voice penetrated the silence of the room.

"Can't sleep either?" The voice asked. He recognized the voice immediately, and relaxed his muscles which had tensed in anticipation. Without turning around he answered her.

"Nah, my brain won't shut up so I thought a change of scenery might help" He put the letter back in his pocket, hoping she hadn't noticed it.

"Mind if I join you?" She inquired. He beckoned her over with a hand.

"Take a seat, although they're not as comfortable as they look" Jennifer sat in the chair opposite him, and he took the opportunity to gaze at her body. She was really an extremely attractive woman, elegant and poised.

Now that he knew, it was impossible to understand how he hadn't noticed the similarities between her and Elizabeth. Apart from the hair, which John knew was all him, Liz was a spitting image of Jennifer. They had the same smile, a small but meaningful inflection of the lips that could make a man's heart melt at twenty paces. When Liz smirked however, you could tell that she was related to John.

Coming back to the moment, he realised Jennifer was looking at him wonderingly, waiting for him to say something. He turned his attention back to her. They made small talk about the day they'd just had, before lulling into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Jennifer spoke up again.

"Do you ever wonder how we ended up here?" She pondered aloud.

"We know how we ended up here: solar flare" He answered naively.

"No" She chuckled "I mean in another galaxy, exploring new worlds and fighting bad guys." She sighed before continuing.

"I got another job offer at the same time as this one" She carried on "A job in Anaheim as chief of the ER department. I was so close to accepting, and then the USAF contacted me. Imagine what my life would be like if I had never come here: I would be running around a hospital, treating banal illnesses, as bored as an ER doctor can be. I would never have known the dangers of the universe or the wonders. I never would have met Teyla, Ronan, Rodney… and you." She stopped to look at him, her eyes softening upon looking at his face. He was leaning on the arm of the chair, his arms crossed with his head leaning on them, listening to her intently.

"I almost didn't come either" He countered, looking down as he started his story. "I liked what I was doing, flying helicopters in Antarctica. It was General O'Neill who convinced me to take a chance, and I have to say he was right. I can't imagine not living here anymore. This is home for me now. My family is here" He looked up at her and saw the look she was giving him: understanding, and something else that he couldn't quite place.

She shivered, making him notice how chilly it had become. It often became quite cold in Atlantis during the night, the brisk night air being colder than on Earth, or at least in America. Sheppard himself didn't mind, he had lived in Antarctica for over a year and had got used to being permanently cold, but many inhabitants of Atlantis still turned their heating up all the way once they went to bed. Without thinking, he gestured for her to come over to where he was sat. She looked confused but obeyed nonetheless. As she neared him, he grabbed her hand and pulled, bringing her crashing down onto his lap. She squeaked in surprise, but before she could react and move off him he wound his arms around her torso, his hands rubbing up and down her back and arm, causing heating friction. She couldn't help but be grateful.

"Thanks" she said, unconsciously snuggling closer in order to share his body heat.

"No problem" he whispered into her ear, making her shiver again, but this time not from the cold. His arms tightened a little around her, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so glad I came here" She said quietly. John could feel her breath on his neck, and it was his turn to shiver. His rested his head on hers and repositioned his arms as casually as possible so that they lay more on her waist. Her t-shirt had ridden up and he touched the warm patch of exposed skin, sending a jolt of electricity up his arm. He started breathing deeper, trying to control his body's reaction to her proximity. If she noticed anything amiss, she said nothing but carried on as she was.

"Atlantis is my home too, and the people in it are my family. I feel closer to you than to anyone back on Earth." Her arms found their way around his torso, and suddenly they were hugging. He could feel her body flush against his, and he thought back to what Future Him said in his letter. _Tell her how you feel. Who knows what'll happen._ He finally plucked up the courage and decided to just go for it, so he shifted his position a bit …

… And that was when Jennifer stood up. "Sorry, I must be squishing you" she apologized, righting herself.

"You didn't have to get up, I was fine" He defended, holding his arm out inviting her to sit back down.

"No, it's fine" She refused "I should probably go back to bed anyway, we both need as much sleep as we can get" He tried to hide the disappointment from appearing on his face, but must have failed as she looked at him with a confused look. She visibly shook it off with a shake of her head and smiled at him with a heart-melting smile.

"Goodnight John" She spoke softly and she bent down and placed her hand on his shoulder. He froze in anticipation, and as her lips pressed his cheek he felt the same jolt of electricity as earlier. He could feel it go through his entire body, starting from the point of contact right down to his toes. He had to hold back a shiver so that she wouldn't notice. She didn't seem to, as she pulled herself upright and, with another blinding smile, left the room. John's eyes followed her out, scanning her whole body before landing on her behind. He sighed appreciatively, but also with a hint of disappointment, and repositioned himself in the chair. He knew he wouldn't get to sleep for a long while, so settled in for the next few hours alone with his thoughts; thoughts of the certain blond haired doctor that would keep him thoroughly entertained throughout the night.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: No idea where I'm going with this story… Oh well. Enjoy!

Elizabeth had woken up earlier than usual that morning. After her usual morning rituals of showering and dressing, she decided to put on some music whilst she finished getting ready. She pressed a button to bring her music player to life as she grabbed her hairbrush from her dresser. The music player was considered vintage now, as it was already not new when her father was young. He had gifted it to her for her sixteenth birthday after she'd expressed her interest in the old technology and she'd kept it ever since. It was a relatively small little box; its silver casing scratched beyond belief, the small apple logo on the back almost indecipherable. She scrolled through the list of albums whilst she brushed her hair unable to make a choice, before deciding to leave it on shuffle. She plugged it into its dock and walked to the bathroom. She'd just put her toothpaste-filled toothbrush into her mouth when the first few notes of the chosen song rang out through the speakers into her room. She smiled when recognition of the song hit her: it was from a band from her youth, and she couldn't help but hum along with the words while she brushed her teeth. She spat out the paste, wiped off the remnants from her mouth and started singing along at full blast.

 _Oh, yeah  
All the people in the bar turned round and stared  
I was on my knees and whipping round my hair  
And I knew that I was winning_

She started dancing around her room to the song, holding an invisible microphone in her hand. She may be twenty-three, but that didn't stop her from acting like a teenager at times. She jigged around whilst putting her socks and shoes on, still singing. Suddenly, in the middle of the guitar solo of the song, she stopped dead. She remembered that the band did another song, and her face broke into a massive grin as a plan formed in her head. She stopped the music by pulling the player form its support and ran out of her room at full speed. She raced through the corridors and down staircases, narrowly missing falling down them multiple times in her enthusiasm. She skidded into the security room, where all the security cameras were as well as the microphone to make announcements to the building. She had come by the room the night before to chat with the night guard before turning in for the night, and halfway through her conversation her jaw had dropped to the floor at the sight she saw on one of the monitors. It was showing footage of one of the rec rooms and she'd seen the entire encounter between her parents. She'd been warned that her John and Jennifer weren't together by her father, but he'd hinted that it wasn't far off. She hadn't realised how close they were however. She'd audibly gasped when Jennifer had got up and left, leaving John alone when it'd seemed so sure that they'd kiss.

She plugged her music player into the sound system of the building, and as she flipped switches on and off ensuring the sound would only come out of the speakers of the men's room, she giggled to herself. She didn't feel too guilty about what she was about to do: ever since she was old enough to appreciate what a prank was, her father took great delight in pranking her on a regular basis, to the point where it had become a competition between them. It had died down since she'd grown up, but they were both still children at heart and so every now and then one of them would end up with some sort of food product covering them or walking down the corridor with little to no clothes on. It had become such a common occurrence that no one reacted to it anymore. Ronan and Rodney had often been collateral damage of her pranks before, so what was once more? She pressed play and watched the screen intently.

 _IF I COULD BACK IN TIME_

 _THEN I WOULD REPLAY LAST NIGHT_

 _SHE GOT ME LOSING MY MIND_

 _WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME_

 _BACK IN TIME_

 _IF I COULD GO BACK IN_

 _IF I COULD GO BACK IN_

 _IF I COULD GO BACK IN TIME_

She dissolved into fits of laughter as she watched the three men jump awake, and pull various faces of discomfort and horror at the noise blaring in their ears. Rodney used a pillow to cover his head and Ronan used his hands to protect his ears, whilst John looked straight at the security camera knowingly. She turned the music down to low volume, and turned on the microphone in the booth.

"Gooooood morning Boys and…. Well, boys" She announced barely containing her laughter. She could see John's mouth form the words 'what the hell?" as he stared into the lens.

"I thought it would be nice to wake up to the dulcet tones of McBusted, performing a very appropriate song" She was sure that if the camera showed color, she would see Sheppard's face go through twenty different shades of red. His face went from confused, to shocked, to embarrassed in all of a few seconds. He hesitated momentarily before flipping the bird at the camera, sending Elizabeth into another fit of giggles. She answered by turning the song, which was still playing on a loop, back up in volume.

 _If I could go back in time  
I know that I'd get it right  
If I could just press rewind  
I know that she would be mine  
Would be mine_

Fifteen minutes later found Elizabeth in the mess hall, enjoying a nice breakfast joined by Jennifer and Teyla. They were talking about typically girly things, like what fashion changes had happened in the past two and a half decades. They were giggling together when a trio of unhappy looking men entered the room. They approached the table and took their seats, but not before Sheppard delivered a firm but not painful slap across the back of Elizabeth's head.

"Umm, ow!" She complained, not out of pain but out of annoyance.

"That's for the wakeup call this morning" John grumbled. Elizabeth exchanged glances with the females at the table and snickered.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself" She schooled her face into submission, with all the talent of her diplomatic namesake.

"If it makes you feel better" she started, and turned her body to the rest of the group, grabbing their attention "Your arrival happens to coincide with Atlantis City hall's bi-annual party-slash-ball-slash-thing, which happens to be tonight and as stand in mayor I'm officially inviting all of you" Her eyes glinted with mischief, which Teyla caught but decided it was better not to ask.

"Ball? Like suits and dancing and stuff? Oh god" Rodney groaned

"Come on McKay, any excuse to dress up and dance is fine by me" Ronan mumbled as he shoved a large mouthful of omelet in his mouth. The entirety of the table looked at him agape, with the exception of Elizabeth. They couldn't imagine Ronan ever dancing.

"What?" he grunted with his mouth full of omelet, his face confused by the stares directed his way. After a few seconds of silence, Teyla turned back to Elizabeth.

"So what is the dress code for such an event? Unfortunately we do not really have an extensive wardrobe" She asked, indicating with her hand the second hand uniforms they were all sporting. Elizabeth had dug through boxes of old expedition gear to find the uniforms along with some black t-shirts and BDUs to make the team feel more at home instead of just giving them clothes from the lost and found.

"Don't worry, just tell me your size and I can get a selection of outfits to your rooms by the end of this afternoon" Elizabeth assured as she picked up the toast off her plate.

"But… do we have to go?" McKay asked.

"YES!" Everyone at the table insisted in unison. Rodney slumped back into his chair, feeling thwarted. Everyone immediately started chatting animatedly about the night ahead of them, wanting to know as much information as possible. Rodney huffed, before grabbing his fork and stabbing the eggs on his plate with it. Stupid dancing, he thought.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm so sorry this is late, but I've had tests and oral presentations and job interviews and ALL kinds of stressful situations that demanded all of my attention. But now that they're over, here's chapter 8 for you all, enjoy!

Seven o'clock rolled around, the time of the ball. John was the last to get dressed, as he'd been distracted on his way to the room by TJ, who wanted to talk a bit about his mother when she was younger, and so hadn't sauntered back to the room he shared with Ronan and Rodney until quarter to the hour. The two other men were already dressed, with Rodney messing around with his hair and Ronan struggling with his tie, and upon entering John was pointed to his bed, where a black ensemble was waiting for him. He shrugged on the clothes, black dress pants first and then a crisp white shirt. Finally he glided his arms into the jacket, grabbed the black tie off the bed and making his way to the mirror on the other side of the small room, where Ronan still stood fiddling with the red fabric around his neck, practically growling in frustration. John sighed and shooed the man's hands away, taking over and starting to tie it for him.

"Thanks" The satedan grunted. John just rolled his eyes as he wrapped the silky fabric around itself.

"So what's going on with you and Keller?" Ronan blurted out, tactless as ever, avoiding the colonel's gaze. John spluttered, staring at the man incredulously. His shock caused him to pull on the tie still in his hand, and Ronan almost choked as it constricted around his neck.

"Sorry" John apologized distractedly loosening the tie "What makes you think there's anything going on between me and Jennifer?"

"Well first of all, you call her Jennifer and not Keller like everyone else. Also, I saw you leave last night, and when I talked to Teyla this morning she said that Keller also mysteriously disappeared during the night, not coming back until early morning" He smirked as he said it, grinning like a kid who just corrected a teacher.

"Nothing is going on! I just couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. I did happen to cross paths with Keller, but we just talked for a bit before she went back to bed. That's it." He affirmed resolutely, finishing his work on Ronan's tie, and tightening it a fraction more than necessary just to annoy his teammate. He turned around to fix his own tie when he heard Ronan mutter under his breath: "Whatever you say"  
He turned his head to argue back, but the man had already moved away from him to the door. John huffed, and started tying the black fabric dangling around his neck.

They walked as a group to the hall where the party was being held. It was in a part of the west sector of the city that the expedition hadn't gotten to exploring yet, and their eyes opened wide as they entered the grand hall. The room was more like a cathedral, with its high ceiling and large stained glass windows. They depicted images of people, presumably ancients, with puddle jumpers as well as images of the Stargate. Stone pillars held up the vast ceiling, which was at least thirty feet high, equally separated throughout the room but not causing circulation problems: there was still plenty of space to socialize and dance. Long lights dangled down over their heads creating a warm and inviting ambiance. Tables were dispersed here and there with chairs set around them, leaving the center of the room as the designated dancefloor. The party was already in full swing, with people standing in small groups chatting and laughing with glasses in their hands, or sitting at a table munching on some food, or even dancing to whatever song was being played through the speakers situated on every other pillar.

Ronan immediately abandoned his peers, heading towards the side of the room where long tables had been pushed against the wall for the buffet. Rodney was quick to follow the man, mumbling something about his hypoglycemia, leaving John, Teyla and Jennifer standing there unsure of what to do.

"Well" John announced, taking a step forward and turning around to look at the two women. He held out both his arms, smiling at them. "Shall we?"

"Unfortunately colonel, I promised my son I would save my first dance for him. Apparently it is a tradition between the two of us, and since my older self cannot be here, I said I would be honored to take her place" she explained. She nodded at the pair before walking gracefully off in the direction of the dancefloor, which John noticed was where TJ was currently, waiting for his mother to join him. Shrugging, he turned back to Jennifer, holding his hand out to her.

"Looks like it's just the two of us" He smirked. The doctor blushed before taking his hand, and he led her towards the dance floor. Just as they reached the edge of the floor the music slowed, to a song neither of them recognized, not quite a ballad as it has a slight beat to it but with definite rat pack qualities to it. The people on the dance floor split into pairs and took the other into their arms. John looked over to Jennifer, who already had her eyes on him, looking hesitant. He simply shrugged and pulled her towards him, laying his hands carefully on her hips. Her hands made their way around his neck and they started swaying in time to the rhythm of the song. They danced silently for a few seconds, before Sheppard leaned over to talk into Jennifer's ear, so that she could hear him over the music. The action made his hands glide around to rest on the small of her back.

"You look beautiful by the way. I meant to tell you earlier, but I got a little distracted."

"Yes, I did notice your eyes glaze over when I came out of my bedroom. Your tongue was practically hanging out of your mouth" She added cheekily, unable to contain a smirk that could rival his.

"Hey, I resent that! I can just appreciate a beautiful woman, that's all. Especially when they look as beautiful as you" He looked deep into her eyes, picking out the yellow flecks in her eyes. He could hardly believe the words that he'd just uttered; they had come out without him thinking. Oh well, he thought, here goes nothing. I hope you're right Future Me.

Startled by his frank admission Jennifer didn't respond, just tightened her grip around his neck. She didn't know how to react to the attention he was giving to her. She'd always known he was more than the average military grunt, a kind and selfless man, and she'd certainly always thought him handsome but had never allowed herself to imagine any sort of relationship other than a professional one. Even as their friendship had developed, it had taken her time to adjust getting closer to someone like him. The possibility of him feeling anything for her other than respect and maybe friendship almost had her frozen to the spot.

However, when his lips met hers her body reacted for her, not giving her head time to disagree. She pulled him close and kissed back in earnest. He hands tangled into his mess of hair, fingers touching the soft strands at the nape of his neck. His one hand went up to cup her cheek whilst his other arm tightened around her waist, refusing to let her pull away, not that she wanted to. They stopped any semblance of dancing, or even swaying, and just stood in the middle of the dancefloor entwined with each other.

They were so intensely involved in one another that they didn't notice the song change the first time, or the second time, or the third and fourth. Neither did they notice their friends all standing to the side of the room, joined by Elizabeth, observing the couple with smiles on their faces. Well, most of their faces.

"I can't believe it! I was only three days out!" McKay grumbled as he took out his wallet, shoving a couple of bank notes into Ronan's outstretched hand. Ronan pocketed the cash laughing.

"Not that I am against the pairing nor am I unhappy for the two, but should we not separate them? Surely they will be struggling for breath soon" Teyla asked teasingly.

"Give them a few more minutes" Liz decided "Then I'll go wrangle a dance from dad".

A/N 2: Ahhh, I think we're getting towards the end of the fic! (I don't really plan anything, just let the ideas flow). Maybe only one or two chapters left!

In case anyone was wondering, the song I was imagining them dancing to, which I played on repeat whilst writing that part of the song, was Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco. It turns out that the whole album is inspiring me (Go check out my SG1 fic called Impossible Year! #spon)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: This is the next to last chapter, I think. There will only be an epilogue after this. I hoped you've enjoyed the story up until now!

Also, I apologize for the last few chapters taking so long to come to fruition. School has gotten in the way a bit, but hopefully as I have no more tests until after the holidays I will be able to carry on with some other ideas I have kicking around in this damn brain of mine.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Morning came around too quickly for John's liking. The light from the suns bled through the curtains, blinding his eyes and making his head hurt. It was because of the mere 4 hours of sleep he'd had last night, not at all to do with the amount of traditional athosian moonshine he'd ingested. At some point during the night, when he'd finally brought himself to disentangle himself from Jennifer's arms, Ronan had handed him a glass of the alcohol and the night had gone on from there. They all kept drinking well into the night in silent celebration, of John and Jennifer's revelation as well as of the fact that they we're going back home to normality the next morning. Well, at least as normal as the Pegasus Galaxy ever got.

John had hesitated on cornering Jennifer and trying to convince her to sneak off with him whilst the others were occupied arguing amongst themselves over who would be doing the talking during the debriefing once they got back, but decided against it. He wanted to show her that he was serious about this, about her and figured that dragging her off to an abandoned part of the city for a quickie probably wasn't the best way to do that. He had however insisted they take a detour on the way back to their respective rooms in the early hours of the morning for a breath of fresh air on one of the many balconies of the control tower, separating themselves from the rest of the group who just eyed them knowingly. They went to John's personal favorite balcony, the one in the control room next to the 'Gate. They'd stayed there for almost a whole hour, talking about everything under the sun but nothing in particular, until Jennifer could no longer keep her fatigue at bay and John had to help her walk back to bed. Arriving in front of their doors, he kissed her gently and sweetly before letting her go and bidding her good night. He'd had the best night's sleep in a while, and all thanks to Jennifer.

John checked the watch that was still attached to his wrist. He had been so tired that he barely was able to undress himself before heaving himself up onto his bed, let alone think of taking his watch off. He grunted as he saw the time: 9:17 am. The solar flare that could take them back home was supposed to be at 11:44 am, so he still had a little time before he had to get up. He chose to spend the last few minutes of rest he had thinking about a certain blonde-haired doctor who had recently taken up all of his brain space. He was still a little bit in shock that she could even possibly feel the same way about him as he felt about her, but she sure seemed to and he wasn't about to question it. Never look a gift horse in the mouth as his grandmother had always said, whatever that meant. So he settled his head back into his pillow, hands behind his head, with a big smile on his face.

The team had met for breakfast in the cafeteria. Not much had been said between them as they ate in companionable silence. However, Jennifer and John; who were sitting opposite each other at the table, were having a full on conversation, comprised of looks, small smiles and bumping feet.

Elizabeth was waiting for them at the foot of the Stargate when they arrived, a full hour later at the control room. She looked exhausted, for she had been one of the last to leave the party, but nothing stopped the day to day life of Atlantis: she was holding her usual data pad that seemed to be permanently attached to her arm, and she was busy tapping away at it when they walked in. Sheppard couldn't help the surge of pride welling in his chest. His daughter –it almost felt normal for him to say it, even if it was only his head- was successful and happy, at least that's how she seemed. He realised, slightly aghast, that he hadn't even bothered to ask her whether she had a partner or, God Forbid, children. He felt like a poor excuse for a father.

She looked up as she heard them approach.

"SGA-1! You're early!" She beamed, any traces of fatigue leaving her face as she smiled at them.

"Yeah well, we're anxious to get back to normality!" McKay grumbled, but it was without malice. He had enjoyed the brief glimpse into the future as much as the rest of them. He'd had the opportunity to slip into the labs and look at the computers. The possibilities had him more excited than he had been in a fair while, and he could hardly wait to get back to their time so he could start working on some of the new projects.

The group started chatting about nothing in particular; waiting for the time to come for them to take their leave, and so John took the opportunity to pull Elizabeth over to the side, a decent distance from the rest of the group who acted as if they hadn't seen anything. They understood the need for privacy.

"I just realised I never even asked you about your life. I feel like a crap dad" He admitted, looking down to the floor in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it, you were busy, what with the whole travelling to the future, finding out you have a daughter, and…other things" Her eyes darted to Jennifer before winking at him. John shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot under her gaze. He had no intention of talking about his love life, albeit a relatively new one, with his daughter, even if she was old enough to have one of her own. Speaking of, he decided to ask her about it.

"Yeah, well….Anyway" He tried to change the subject "So, do you have any family of your own? A boyfriend … or girlfriend?" He hesitated. He had nothing against the whole gay thing, but didn't know whether it was appropriate to ask or not. He was reassured when she giggled at him, her face a carbon copy of Jennifer's.

"You know the rules, no important information" She chastised. He refused to take no for an answer and pushed for more.

"Come on, anything?" He nagged.

"Well" She finally conceded "I will say this: Uncle Ronan had some _very_ attractive children"

John looked shocked for a long moment before huffing.

"Figures" He said. Suddenly, a beeping was heard throughout the room. It was coming from Liz's data pad.

"That's the alarm. It's time to get you back where you belong." She waved up to the controls to a man that John hadn't noticed was there, who at her command started dialing up the address for the planet the team had originally come from before their crazy few days began. As the event horizon whooshed, Elizabeth turned back to the travelers.

"Well, it's been fun! Come visit some time!" she joked, making them all chuckle. "Now, get out of here!"

The team all turned and walked straight through the Gate, but John hung back for a moment. After barely a moment's hesitation, he pulled Elizabeth into a strong, firm, loving hug. He felt her arms wind around his back and squeeze him back. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and whispered just loud enough for her to hear:

"I'm so proud that you're my daughter"

He pulled back to look at her face, and the tears evident in her eyes were almost enough to make him well up too. He brought his hand up to her cheek, caressing it with his thumb, and smiled reassuring smile at her. She smiled back at him, eyes still glazed.

"I'd better go" he muttered. She stayed silent but nodded at him. He adjusted the pack on his back and jogged over to the wormhole. With a last furtive glance back at what he'd seen of his future, he stepped forward into the event horizon to live it out.

A/N 2: Sorry if it's a bit rushed, I'm no good at wrapping things up. Like I said, there will be an epilogue. Hopefully it will come to me soon, as I know how annoying it can be to wait for new chapters, especially the last ones!


	10. Epilogue

A/N: Here it is: the last chapter of this story! It's been an adventure; but now it's time to wind down. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm sure that in a few years I'll look back on it and cringe, but right now I'm happy with it. Enjoy!

Pure happiness was the only way to describe General John Sheppard when he stepped back into the city of Atlantis. His city. He figured if anyone had claim of ownership over it, it was him. He had lived there for at least thirty years, and had no plans of leaving it anytime soon.

He had had to leave for a week while Past Him had been around, and he'd missed his home. The faint hum of the city reverberated through his feet throughout his body, and he felt whole again. He had become so used to feeling the city around him that whenever he left he felt a little empty. The feeling had been doubly as intense over the week as he was also without his family. Elizabeth had had to stay to take care of the team, and Jennifer had managed to wrangle her way into staying in Atlantis, as the most experienced doctor in the city she hadn't wanted to leave. John hadn't had the same luck. Since their pact with the Wraith, there hadn't been much need for the Air Force, and John had retired almost ten years ago, but not before several promotions and a Medal of Honor. He'd taken up the job of sheriff instead, which gave him a lot more free time to spend with his family and friends surprisingly. Atlantis was a fairly peaceful city, so leaving for a week and leaving the city in the capable hands of his chief deputy was no problem.

He jogged up the seemingly endless flights of stairs in the control tower –he would never get used to it being called City Hall, it would always be the control tower for him- making his way to his daughter's office. It was closer than the hospital wing so he decided to drop by on Jennifer later.

He could see her through the glass walls, hunched over the data pad on her desk, scribbling furiously onto the top page of a stack of papers without looking at what she was writing. He stopped short, almost about to turn tail and come back later. He knew how involved with her she got, and hated being interrupted when she was in full flow. It must have been Rodney's influence during his many babysitting instances because neither of her parents were that way. Taking a deep breath in preparation for the inevitable storm of rage by his otherwise angelic daughter, he walked up to her door and walked in without knocking.

"Hey, Lizzie" he drawled as casually as he could.

"Dad!" she squealed as she saw him, and in a single movement she leapt up out of her seat and ran at him, tackling him with a hug that pushed the breath out of his lungs and almost knocked him over. It reminded him of when she was younger, back when he still went on missions through the Gate. Every time he came back he was rewarded with a bone-crushing hug from his daughter, who was happy he was still alive. She may have been young, but she knew what sort of danger he exposed himself to every time he stepped through the Stargate, after one time he took her through on what was supposed to be a routine trip to meet with the one of their long-time allies when they had an unfortunate run-in with the Wraith, and they'd had to hide in caves for a few hours until they missed the scheduled check-in and Atlantis sent back up. John had managed to get shot in the leg while running, since carrying his daughter slowed him down some, and Elizabeth had been so worried she was more panicked than he was. It had shaken her up pretty badly, and John had had to take time off, because she refused to let him go on missions for months afterwards.

"Woah, what did I do to deserve this?" He laughed out, as he wound his arms around her to return her hug.

"I missed you is all" She mumbled into his shoulder, refusing to let him go.

"What are you talking about? I was right here the whole time! And not only that, I was younger!" He joked.

"It wasn't the same" She answered, pulling her head back to look him in the eyes. "He wasn't my dad"

John felt so touched; he pulled her tightly against him for another hug that she returned gladly. They stayed that way, embracing each other, not saying a word, for many minutes until finally John pulled back.

"I should probably let you get back to work, you looked pretty busy. Plus, your mom will kill me if she knows I've been back for long and haven't gone to see her yet"

"Don't worry about it, there was an incident at _. No casualties or really serious injuries, but Mom's still got her hands full." She explained "That's the work I was doing: incident report"

"Ah, well in that case I'm going to go home and relax. Maybe read a bit. See you soon" He smiled at her and made his way out of the office.

"You'll never finish that damn book you know!" Her voice carried out after him "You've been trying for all of my life and you've still never made it past chapter 1!" He chuckled to himself and strolled down the corridor.

He was asleep on the sofa, his favorite book lying open across his chest with one hand still grasping it and the other hanging off the side, with his legs propped up on the arm of the sofa when Jennifer came home after her double shift in the Hospital Ward. She stopped and watched him for a few moments, reveling in the fact that he was back home. After so many years of them spending as much time with each other as they did, it had unsettled her for him to be out of reach, even if it was only for less than a week.

His wedding band glinted in the fading sunlight on the hand still holding his book as he shuffled in his sleep, and Jennifer couldn't help but smile. He was the most perfect partner she could have ever wished for and although she had definitely accepted the fact that he loved her completely and unconditionally, she knew better than to ask him or herself why, because she felt the same for him.

He looked so peaceful she didn't want to wake him, so she walked around to the mantelpiece in their living room and inspected the pictures that were displayed there. The first one was a picture of their wedding day. They'd wanted to get married on Atlantis, so Rodney had gotten ordained to perform the ceremony on the internet and they'd had a quiet ceremony on the balcony by the control room. The view was magnificent and at dusk the Suns hit the city in just a way that the buildings seemed to shine. Ronan was best man of course, and Teyla was Jennifer's maid of honor. They'd invited their close friends such as Woolsey, Carson, Amelia, Radek and a few others, but overall it was a very small and private affair. John had surprised her with their rings; they'd been made out of naquedah and he'd commissioned them to be made just after he'd proposed. She had been so happy that day, just thinking of it made her heart warm.

Another picture that made Jennifer smile was on the opposite side of the mantelpiece. It was a picture of the two of them and baby Elizabeth in the hospital on the day she was born. The picture showed a tired but content new mother, a tiny newborn baby and an elated, if slightly dirty, father. John had actually been on an emergency rescue mission when she'd gone into labor and had come running in, muddy and disgusting, just as she was about to start pushing. They'd barely had time to take the picture before Carson had forced the soldier out of the hospital room, complaining about unhygienic conditions for the baby. John had raced to the nearest bathroom, which had happened to be in Lorne's quarters, to wash himself off and after stealing His XO's clothes he was straight back in the infirmary with his wife and child.

The other few pictures were of friends and family, although in their particular case those two categories were one and the same. Since John's brother had died almost ten years before and Jennifer never really had much of a family life to begin with, their current family consisted of no one who was actually of blood relation, but that didn't matter to them. They were family nonetheless.

She was so involved in her memories she hadn't heard him wake up or get off the couch, but she didn't flinch when he wound his arms around her from behind.

"Reminiscing?" He asked, whispering into her ear.

"Yeah, just wondering when our life got this good" She answered, laying her hands on top of his on her stomach.

"About…" He checked his watch. "…83 hours ago" He joked, counting the hours since the Past Them had gone back through the Gate.

"Very funny" She retorted. "Do you want to go to bed and back to sleep or do you want dinner first?"

"Neither" His eyes sparkled "I want you." He grinned at her and took her hand, guiding her gently towards their bedroom.

 _FIN_

A/N2: That's it, it's over! I'm currently writing a really angsty John/Jennifer fic, and I'm thinking of a John/Rodney Friendship fic set during The Shrine. If any of that interests you, follow me for more fics!


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